How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 414: Meaningless (Part )
In all of Lot's plans, he had never imagined that he would encounter something like this.

Although he knew that he was in a Warp Temple ruled by some Warp creatures, and thought he had some understanding of the Warp elements in it, he finally realized that his understanding and knowledge of this matter was too superficial, even ridiculous.

Of course, he knew that in such an environment, he would inevitably encounter some Warp servants who originally "lived" here, regardless of whether they belonged to the temple itself or to the Thousand Sons wizards who had left but obviously did not go far. The long-term experience of living in the Eye of Terror and Medlengard had accumulated some experience that allowed him to deal with the unliving, which was of questionable reliability. Because of this confidence, he did not worry too much about the obvious possibility mentioned above - but the premise was that the Warp servant creatures he encountered... were not the kind in front of him, which would make him feel strongly threatened.

This thing has the body of a beast, sharp claws, a whip-like tail, feathered wings, but a head of a woman. Even the head looks as beautiful as an aristocrat. On its forehead is a snake-shaped crown made of gold and rubies, and its ears are decorated with colorful feathers. Its chest is covered with large pieces of gold and gems, and there are even armbands made of precious metals on its two front paws. This spliced ​​anomaly is certainly not terrifying. Lot has seen worse in the subspace. The reason why it makes Lot feel so threatened is mainly because of its size:

When it was still flying in the sky, Lot didn't think much of it. But when it fell from the sky and landed in front of Lot like a meteor, he did squint his eyes at the dust it kicked up - and then he realized that this thing was so big that it could kill him with just one claw.

Humans are naturally afraid of things that are much bigger than themselves, and this is no exception for Space Marines. They will instinctively feel awe at the Primarch that appears before them, and will also instinctively be wary of the giant beast that appears before them. The moment this thing fell, Lot instinctively reached for the bolter on his waist, but in an instant he realized that with this caliber, even if he emptied one or two magazines against such a behemoth, it would probably be a drop in the bucket.

But it doesn't mean that Lot is completely unable to fight against such a thing. At least he still has two cannons beside him. If he is given a chance to fire a shot, everything will be solved if he hits it. However, at this moment, fighting against it would not be his first choice. After all, he only has eight shells, and because he was in a hurry when he set out, he has not adjusted the firing angle of the barrel. Now the black muzzle beside him is still facing the sky. Moreover, past life experience has also told him that although being found by subspace creatures is usually not a good thing, these weird things will not always attack the things they find at the first time.

Lot watched carefully for two seconds, confirming that the mountain-like monster in front of him had no intention of tearing him apart and eating him immediately, so he spoke cautiously: "No offense, but you are blocking my way, dear... uh, creature?"

His first reaction was to choose the honorific "Madam", but he immediately remembered that a woman's face probably meant nothing to a creature of the Warp, so he chose a more neutral title, even though it made the whole sentence sound weird.

The good news is that the monster didn't react too aggressively. After hearing what Lotte said, it leaned down gracefully and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I..." Lot stuttered. He wanted to make up a lie, but then he remembered that many creatures in the warp space could spy on people's emotions and minds. So he told the truth to be safe. "I went to the main hall, the pyramid behind the Abu Simbel Temple. My master is there."

The monster nodded demurely, but its next words seemed to imply that Lot had not given the best answer:

"My master is there too," it exclaimed in a reverent tone, "that is his resting place, the court of domination, the path to godhood."

Even if Lot knew something was wrong, it was too late to change his answer. The monster stood up again and walked around Lot and his cannon with elegant steps: "Uninvited guest from a foreign land, if you can answer my riddle, you will pass; if you can't, you will become my food."

"What?" Lot reflexively tightened his grip on the handle of the bolter. At least this familiar action made him feel a little more secure. "There was no such rule the last time we came here."

The Iron Warrior argued, but the monster ignored him. It walked around Lot and his cannonballs with a graceful and agile posture, and the tone of the riddle it uttered was like singing: "There are thousands of paths under your feet; the wise think, the foolish rush; all the efforts and thoughts will eventually lead to one place; I don't know that I have been imprisoned for a long time. What is this?"

Lot opened his mouth and tried his best to control himself, so as not to say the first thing that popped into his mind, "What is this Tzeentch thing?" Considering that it was the Thousand Sons who brought this temple, it seems reasonable that the Warp creatures living in it also like Tzeentch's tricks. Unfortunately, with Lot's very sorry level of knowledge, he really has no interest in the game of guessing riddles, which is only for educated people, and naturally he can't be good at it.

As soon as he heard the riddle, he was certain that he couldn't think of the correct answer. He was not good at this kind of abstract thinking full of metaphors. In comparison, thinking about how to level the barrel of the gun and fire a shot at the opponent under the watchful eyes of the opponent was more feasible for him.

If that didn't work, Lotte thought, he could at least shoot it in the mouth when it came to eat him. It depended on luck, but if he was lucky enough, maybe he could survive?

He was almost amused by his own unrealistic and useless conjecture. After knowing that his luck had finally run out and he would probably die soon, Lotte did not feel panic or fear, but instead felt relieved. He looked back at the various things in his life, and even if he risked his life, he could not get much pleasure or glory from them. If he could survive, of course he wanted to survive, but if he had to die, it didn't seem to matter.

"Okay." Lot said, slowly moving his hand towards the joystick that adjusted the barrel. "I admit that I am not well-educated and smart enough to answer your riddle. But why didn't you come up and ask questions the last time I came here with the entire army and Commander Tolamino?"

He wanted to buy himself some time with these rambling questions, but unfortunately, the subspace creature in front of him obviously had the wisdom to understand all of this: "You don't want to abide by the rules and don't want to answer my questions."

The creature squatted down again behind Lot's cannon and continued, "You still want to kill me with your weapon so that you can pass directly through this road."

"I have to say, it's not that I don't want to follow your rules, it's that I really can't answer them." Lot turned his head and stared at the slightly shiny pattern on the monster's fur. As he spoke, he secretly speculated on the success rate of throwing a shell from the car to the monster's feet and then igniting it with a grenade launcher. "Look, I have to go over, but you are blocking my way. If you are not willing to move out of the way, then a conflict between us is inevitable."

He didn't like to talk nonsense with the enemy before the battle, so his skills in this area were also very poor. Lot was never a good talker, but if he didn't talk nonsense like this, he might die in the next second. But to his surprise, under this poor negotiation, or delaying technique, the huge monster actually nodded and commented: "Abrupt."

Considering the riddle that the creature had said before, even Lotte could easily realize from the literal meaning of the riddle that it was scolding him for being stupid. This inevitably ignited his anger, but the winged monster flapped its wings and flew into the air faster than his anger.

Even though the wings on this thing were not aerodynamic and it was unlikely to take it into the air directly, there must be some psychic elements in this action, but the monster still created a very violent cyclone when it flapped its wings. The sand and stones forced Lot, who had lost his helmet, to squint his eyes. He used his arms to slightly cover his face, and he felt a little regretful for his previous action of knocking down the gun barrel, but at this moment, regret was useless.

The wind and sand were getting stronger and stronger under the influence of the inevitable psychic energy. In just a few seconds, Lot could no longer run quickly to the side of the other cannon with the barrel still pointed at the sky. Moreover, even if he ran over, his current vision prevented him from aiming specifically. He sighed and waited for the end of his fate in the sand and dust with relief. Being eaten by subspace creatures was certainly not an honorable way to die, but considering that Lot himself had been struggling in trenches and pits for so many years and had never earned any honor worth mentioning, this dishonorable way of death seemed to be quite suitable for the dishonorable Lot.

Very quickly, his visibility around him was reduced to zero due to the fine sand that was blown up by the strong wind. He could hardly see the gun barrel next to him, which he had touched with his skill, let alone the other gun that was dragged behind him by a chain. The sand began to invade his nose and mouth, making Lot wonder if the monster wanted to suffocate him in the sand and then eat him whole. This also made Lot feel interesting: Didn't the monster know that the Astartes' enhanced organs made it difficult for them to be suffocated?

In any case, the attack and pain that Lot imagined never came, so he had time to experience the torture of being slowly deprived of air in the vast sand and dust. It was not as unbearable as he had initially thought. At first, Lot thought that this was just because he had experienced worse torture, but then, as time went on, he gradually realized that the monster did not seem to want to suffocate him.

After an unknown amount of time, the sandstorm gradually died down. Lotte took the opportunity to cough and choke to get rid of all the foreign objects that had entered his respiratory tract. But when he came to his senses and realized that the wall of sandstorms had quietly collapsed and fallen, he really began to panic:
The cannon beside him was gone, the ammunition was gone, and except for the bolter and chainsaw axe he always carried, he had nothing now - and more importantly, he was not in the same place. There was no more sun around him, no more empty desert, no more crude roads with only rammed earth buildings.

Now, Lot was surrounded by walls covered with countless hieroglyphs and murals, and his feet were on a kind of hard bluestone. Every step his power boots took would make a loud noise that could echo and reflect for a long time in this corridor. There was no doubt that he had entered a temple in the Great Temple - but which one was it? And how to get out? In other words, would this temple, which had been immersed in the subspace for a long time and had its own consciousness and evil thoughts, really allow him to go out?

Lotte really started to panic.
-
"The answer is 'choice.'"

Faced with the same riddle posed by the same Queen Sphinx, Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed much more at ease: "I assume that your riddles contain some omens for the future as always, but it is obvious that they have been contaminated by Tzeentch."

For Ritsuka Fujimaru, who knew what the Queen Sphinx "should have looked like", the traces of Tzeentch's contamination on this tomb-guarding beast were as obvious as the surrounding temples. Its originally sandy fur was now covered with blue-green patterns, like eyes standing upright and staring blankly at the surroundings. The symbols on its chest ornaments that originally represented Horus, the god of the sky, and Anubis, the god of the underworld, were all transformed into symbols of Tzeentch. Its face was still as delicate and exquisite as a marble sculpture, but it had a faint evil aura that would dazzle people if they stared at it for too long. These seemingly different changes from the original made Ritsuka Fujimaru sad, but at the same time, they forced him to be alert.

Anyway, nothing good will happen if you get involved with Jianqi.

At least, although the Queen Sphinx had obviously been attacked by Tzeentch, her entire body had not turned blue, or had some Tzeentch-style distortions on her body; just as many of the emblems of Egyptian gods on the buildings in the temple had been smeared and desecrated, and many symbols of Chaos and Tzeentch had been roughly carved on them, but at least the buildings themselves had not turned into crystal. Considering that the other party was not particularly polluted, and that they had worked together before (doubtful), Fujimaru Ritsuka still thought that he could have a chat with her and explore the details of the current temple.

The Queen Sphinx tilted her head, as if looking at Fujimaru Ritsuka who had given the answer, and seemed to be looking past her at the Cosmic Sphinx cub that was showing off its might above Nasir's head behind her. She paused for a while, and then spoke reluctantly: "Correct answer."

"What will happen next?" Akultona, who had seen the drama version of "Oedipus Rex" in the fantasy world, whispered, "There is no cliff here. Is it going to jump off the side of the temple and fall directly into the Hera Fortress below?"

"That part of the plot is an artistic processing of the legend." Fujimaru Ritsuka was a little annoyed, but the reason she was annoyed was a little strange. "Will a bird die if it jumps off a cliff? The Sphinx also has wings and can fly!"

The Queen Sphinx obviously heard this conversation, but unfortunately, she was in no mood to participate in this kind of uninspired chat. She stood up from the sand again, squinted her eyes and shook her fur like a lion, spread her wings, and lowered her head to look down at this small team.

"Allied, you know the rules," said the Queen Sphinx. "If you answer correctly, I will let you go; if you answer incorrectly, I will eat you. Now, you answer correctly--"

But at this moment, without warning, the Cosmic Sphinx resting on Pegasus's shoulder armor let out a threatening growl, and the other two in the team also reacted in a similar way. Almost at the same time, the blue lines on the Queen Sphinx's body that originally did not exist glowed like breathing, causing the originally elegant and coherent movements of her huge body to become stuck:

“——You are right.” An evil blue light radiated from her eyes. “Ally. I will eat you.”

Before he finished speaking, the body of the Sphinx, a giant cat, dropped from the sky and slapped Fujimaru Ritsuka on the head with a swift blow.

(End of this chapter)